A conservative (free markets and such) friend and I were having a private conversation about healthcare when he asked why there was so much waste in our healthcare system, i.e. why was the cost of actual care so low compared to how much we spend. Here’s my answer, edited for clarity: The waste you’re alluding to is caused…

Conservatives are known for their belief that free markets are the answer to all problems—including those like healthcare. The idea is elegant: you have a problem and you unleash the free market upon it. Companies will compete, and you’ll have the best outcomes. Done and done. It’s been intuitive to me that there is an inexorable conflict here,…

Hi $NAME, Basically, the role of the government is to provide for our welfare, to see that we flourish, etc. Note this part of the constitution: We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the…

There’s a saying in atheism circles that aims to show Christian hypocrisy related to how they dismiss all the thousands of gods that have existed previously, yet fail to understand how atheists dismiss theirs: I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all…